A brief description of programs, policies, infrastructure investments, outreach efforts, and/or other factors that contributed to the diversion rate, including efforts made during the previous three years:

- Recycle-Mania: Over an 8-week period each spring, our campus participated in Recycle Mania, a friendly competition to promote waste reduction activities. - Earth Day: Students conducted a special one-day “waste audit” in which they sorted through trash and separated it into recyclable, compostable or landfill waste piles. -Dawgs Nite Out: Zero waste stations were set up to educate participants about recycling and composting options. -Give and Go: The office, students, and community collaborators collected clothing and bedding, shoes, purses, bags, housewares, small electronics, cleaning products and unopened food items at university housing from students who are moving and donated it to various organizations.

A brief description of any food donation programs employed by the institution:

-The Saluki Food Pantry was opened in August 2016 to help meet the needs of food insecure students. Donations can be dropped off at 3 locations.-The Saluki Food Drive is a week-long food-donation program led by Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Sustainability Office in partnership with the Wesley Foundation. During the week of April 18-22, campus departments, registered student organizations, and other campus groups and individuals can donate canned and other non-perishable food items to help students in need of food.

A brief description of any pre-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:

Pre- and post-consumer food waste from our dining halls is being diverted from the landfill to our newly opened forced-aeration composting facility. This food waste diversion started in January 2016, so the data above does not yet include these values.Pre-consumer food waste such as food trimmings, are diverted to our vermicomposting facility where worms compost everything from vegetable waste to coffee grounds.

A brief description of any post-consumer food waste composting program employed by the institution:

Pre- and post-consumer food waste from our dining halls is being diverted from the landfill to our newly opened forced-aeration composting facility. This food waste diversion started in January 2016, so the data above does not yet include these values.

Does the institution include the following materials in its waste diversion efforts?:

Yes or No

Paper, plastics, glass, metals, and other recyclable containers

Yes

Food donations

Yes

Food for animals

No

Food composting

Yes

Cooking oil

Yes

Plant materials composting

Yes

Animal bedding composting

Yes

Batteries

Yes

Light bulbs

Yes

Toner/ink-jet cartridges

Yes

White goods (i.e. appliances)

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Laboratory equipment

Yes

Furniture

Yes

Residence hall move-in/move-out waste

Yes

Scrap metal

Yes

Pallets

Yes

Motor oil

Yes

Tires

Yes

Other materials that the institution includes in its waste diversion efforts:

We are very pleased to share that we have opened a new Forced Aeration Composting Facility, which is the largest of its kind in the Midwest. This composting facility, a collaboration between our dining halls and School of Agriculture, started accepting food waste from our dining halls this January. As a result, we have already diverted thousands of pounds of food waste from the landfill to the composting facility and have been able to remove at least 2 garbage compactors from campus due to this change.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution and complete the Data Inquiry Form.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System

(STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and
universities to measure their sustainability performance.